Environmental change in the Danube Delta

The Danube Delta is one of the most valuable wetlands in Europe. In two collaborative projects with partners from Romania and Ukraine we study the effects of environmental change on ecological and biogeochemical functions of the delta. Increasing nutrient inputs act as drivers for greenhouse gas emissions from delta lakes. This is the topic of a joint Romanian-Swiss project funded by the ESTROM program.

Parts of the delta are under thread by dredging projects to facilitate navigation. These human impacts are assessed by biological monitoring of a Romanian-Ukrainian team funded by the Swiss SCOPES program.

The Danube Delta is a dynamic network of canals, lakes and reed beds.

Contact person: Bernhard Wehrli, Edith Durisch-Kaiser

Funding: SNF, ESTROM and SCOPES programs

Collaborators:

• Silviu Radan and Alina Pavel (GeoEcoMar, Bucharest)
• Cristina Sandu (Biological Inst. Bucharest)
• Artem Liashenko (Hydrobiol. Inst. Kyiv)